


Exclusive

by MelWritesFanfic



Series: Something Beginning With ... [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - No Prophecy (Final Fantasy XV), Declarations Of Love, Interviews, M/M, Newspapers, No Plot/Plotless, POV First Person, The tags kind of give it away anyway lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:47:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22706449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MelWritesFanfic/pseuds/MelWritesFanfic
Summary: Dino is granted an interview with the Crown Prince.
Relationships: Prompto Argentum/Noctis Lucis Caelum
Series: Something Beginning With ... [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1479728
Comments: 4
Kudos: 66





	Exclusive

**Author's Note:**

> I'm trying my damned best to finish up the last chapters of Come Home and A Sign in the Window, and this idea was blocking me. So I just ran with it and made this fic. There's little to no planning involved, and absolutely no editing beyond my usual perfectionist edit-as-I-go type editing.
> 
> It might have got a bit cheesy at the end, but we'll blame the fact that it's 6:30 am here and that it's Dino who's doing the talking and he's a cheesy guy. Also, Valentine's Day ... Cheese is Mandatory! ;)
> 
> Please enjoy; I hope you like it. :)

**The Pride of Insomnia: An Interview with His Highness, Prince Noctis - by Dino Ghiranze.**

There’s something unusual about today as I board the train alone at South-Central station toward my destination. It’s typical Insomnian winter weather: cold and drizzly, but more than that, there’s something else in the air that I can’t quite put my finger on. There’s tension, but not the foreboding, stomach-churning kind. The city seems different today; the trains are full as usual, but the commuters, normally stony-faced and silent, are smiling and passing pleasantries. Out on the streets, the sound of honking horns and angry drivers is distinctly lacking. Pedestrians walk with their heads held high instead of looking in their phones, and shop owners stand in the doorways of their stores with a smile, ready to greet their customers. There’s a joy among the people that’s more at home in market towns like Lestallum, and rarely seen in big cities such as Insomnia.

And joyful the people should be: yesterday they were a nation on the verge of war. Today, thanks in no small part to the efforts of our reigning monarch, all thoughts of war can be cast aside.

But I am not here to talk about the war that could have been. In fact, it is the one thing my editor has forbidden me to discuss. I am not even here to talk to His Majesty. King Regis is, no doubt, still locked in some soulless conference room signing treaties and shaking hands with other dignitaries.

The Citadel stands tall and proud, at home amongst the towers of glass and steel that make up the bulk of the architecture in Insomnia, a reminder of the imposing strength of the kings, both old and new. As I make my way up the grand staircase towards the entrance, Lord Ignis Scientia, Prince Noctis’ advisor, awaits to greet me. I can’t help but feel that imposition weighing on my shoulders.

Today, unprecedented as it is already, I have been granted an audience with His Highness, Prince Noctis. It is a rare occasion to be offered an exclusive interview with any celebrity, never mind a member of the royal family. Rarer still is when said royalty contact a publication requesting the meeting themselves.

To say that I am nervous is an understatement.

“Make yourself at home,” Ignis tells me as we enter the room and he takes my coat. “His Highness will be with you shortly.”

The room, I am reliably informed, is the prince’s own personal quarters in the Citadel and is bright and modern. Although there is no doubt that its furnishings are exquisite, it lacks the garish grandeur often seen in some of the other royal quarters. Instead, the room has more of a “bachelor-pad” aesthetic. Its bookshelves are crammed with games, comics, and science fiction and fantasy literature, and there are enough gaming machines and electronics stashed in the room to keep even the most hardcore of gamers entertained for an age.

At the door, stands Prince Noctis’ personal guard, Gladiolus Amicitia. He’s a behemoth of a man with muscles on his muscles, and he cuts an intimidating figure in his full Crownsguard uniform. Flitting around the room, setting up lighting and tripods, and the reason for my solo travel today, is the prince’s friend and photographer, Prompto Argentum. He waves me hello as he adjusts the lens on his camera and snaps a few shots. “Testing the focus,” he assures.

When the prince arrives, he does so without announcement or ceremony. He’s dressed disarmingly casual in a hoodie and jeans, all royal black, of course, and his hair is a mess of blue-black spikes. He flops down on the sofa across from me and reaches out to shake my hand. For a man renowned for his enigmatic and introverted nature, he seems remarkably relaxed around a member of the press.

“Yeah, I don’t like to deal with the press,” he concedes with a laugh and shrug of his shoulders. In the background, his friend starts snapping away, “but then, it’s not like this is a conference, right? Besides, usually, the reporters are all up in my business.”

Of course, the prince explains, he is under no illusion that he’s a person of interest to the general public. He is, after all a prominent figure in Lucian politics; whether he wants to be or not.

“Absolutely,” he says, unflinching when I posit that, due to this position of power, it is the job of the press to report on his professional conduct and behaviour. “And I should definitely be held accountable. I have no issue with the press on that regard.”

“But?”

“But some of them are deliberately invading my privacy and the privacy of my family and friends. All to sell magazines and make money. I guess it makes me uncomfortable. Angry even.”

Although he doesn’t mention it, it’s clear the invasion of privacy he is referring to is the incident that occurred on his eighteenth birthday at the Caelum Via Hotel. While attending the party, the prince had been attacked by a drunken gate crasher. The resulting fracas ended with the prince being removed by minders and his shield being hospitalised. It later emerged the gate crasher was, in fact, given access to the hotel through a member of the invited press. The reporter was later identified and disciplined.

“Sometimes I feel they’re not interested in any of the work I do as part of my duties,” he says solemnly. “I do a lot of work with the refugees in the Eastern District. I’ve been trying to raise more awareness for the hardship that people are facing and what we, as Lucian Citizens, can do to assist them, but the press rarely reports on that.

“And I’ve set up a charity to help children and young adults from disadvantaged backgrounds access higher education and routes to employment, but I guess the press would rather catch me going out on a date, or being involved in some scandal.”

It’s true that since the prince came of age last year, there has been an increasing number of articles dedicated to speculating on his love life, though, as I point out to him again, the nature of his position in society brings with it a level of celebrity status.

When I mention that he has quite the fanbase out there, he laughs shyly as though disbelieving. Despite boyish, handsome features, and his status, it appears our prince is an exceptionally humble young man.

When I tell him his fans are eager to know if he’s seeing anyone, or if they themselves might have a chance at dating a prince, he throws a coy gaze at his friend, who has come between us to take close-up shots. “I guess that’s why I asked you here.”

There’s a lot of promise in that one sentence. He has been linked romantically to several eligible women, including none other than the Oracle herself, Lady Lunafreya Nox Fleuret of Tenebrae.

I ask the prince if he’s dating, unable to hold my curiosity any longer. The prince replies with a nod and a bashful smile.

“I’ve been discussing this with dad,” he starts, and for the first time since this interview began, he looks visibly nervous. His eyes are darting around the room, looking first to his advisor, who offers him a brief, encouraging smile, and then to his friend, who continues to snap away at his camera but gives a thumbs up. “It was his idea to do this, actually. I mean, announce it exclusively to your newspaper.”

Intrigued, I ask him if the rumours of his involvement with Lady Lunafreya are true.

“Well, sort of,” he says with a calculating look. “I mean, we’re good friends, and we write to each other a lot. You could say she’s partially responsible for this; she gave me the encouragement when I needed it.”

“Do you mean to say Lady Lunafreya played matchmaker?” I ask, delving deeper. There have been other, more recent rumours that the prince may have formed a romantic connection with Commodore Aranea Highwind of the Imperial Niflheim Army.

When I ask the prince this, the laugh I receive in reply is the most genuine and hearty that I’ve heard since the start of the interview, and it sends his photographer friend into a frenzy of camera clicks.

“You could say that Luna helped, yeah,” Prince Noctis says, smiling wide. “But it’s not Commodore Highwind.”

Prince Noctis certainly knows how to create suspense. Every minute of his silence has me desperate to hear who his beloved may be.

Finally, the prince looks up from his contemplation and pats the seat beside him. The photographer’s camera stops clicking.

“Well, I’d like to announce,” the prince says, his voice a little shaky, “ _officially_ announce, that I am dating. Like I said, I discussed it with my dad, and he’s been so supportive. Everyone has really.”

As I wait with bated breath for the prince to deliver his announcement, it feels like we’re on the cusp of something unprecedented.

“And there’s not been a lot of good news out there, recently,” Prince Noctis says, stumbling through his speech “and I know I’m rambling, but I’ve never felt in love like this before, and I wanted to share that—that happiness.”

The prince reaches out his hand, and it’s immediately taken by his photographer friend, who sits next to him and hugs him tightly.

“I’m in love with my best friend,” the prince continues, holding onto the blond’s hand tight. “I’m in love with Prompto.”

Today has been a historic day in more ways than one, with new beginnings both internationally and domestically. While there is no doubt that there will be many fans heartbroken by this news, there will not be one of them who will not join with me in celebrating our young prince’s newfound love.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and feedback highly encouraged. I love it when I get comments and it makes me smile a lot :D
> 
> Thanks for reading, :)  
> Mel x


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